The present invention relates to countdown or advent type calendars corresponding to a selected time interval having a beginning date, an end date and a pictorial design and/or textural message relating to a theme associated with the time interval. The calendar may have any selected theme such as a recognized holiday or an arbitrarily designated time interval relating to events having a personal or familial significance such as a birthday, wedding, anniversary, vacation or the like.
The countdown calendars of interest herein track the arrival of a date. The calendars are particularly enjoyed by children as a means to quantify the time interval to the approaching event date and to heighten the anticipation of the event.
It is known to provide a date array with pocketed date locations for insertion of a marker element or separate mounting locations for numbered marker elements as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,061. Removal of marker elements from the date array during the countdown may reveal a personal message as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,553. Instead of removing marker elements, tabs may be arranged to be opened along fold lines to reveal a series of messages associated with the upcoming event as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,443,288 and 6,280,200.
Communication and educational calendars may enable a user to write a personal reminder message under a movable tab as in U.S. Pat. No. 2,831,278, receive a specific health or behavior modification message related to a goal as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,580, or disclose an inspirational or motivational message on movable tabs assembled to highlight or form a pictorial design as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,733.